Snug tie for shoes



Sept. 17, 1957 G. E. MORGAN. JR., ETAL SNUG TIE FOR SHOES Filed Feb. 20,1956 Mam nite

SNUG TIE FQR SHORE Gerard E. Morgan, Jr., Glenview, and Joseph V.Lukasik,

Chicago, Ill., assignors to John '1. Ridtieii, lac, Chicago, 11]., acorporation of lliinois Application February N, 1956, Serial No. 566,762

3 Claims. (Cl. 362.5)

This invention relates to footwear and more particularly to a laced shoeand to means for securing it snugly around the ankle of a wearer.

No adequate provisions are made in conventional laced shoes to draw theshoe tightly around the foot at or below the level of the ankle and thusprevent accidental dislodgment or rubbing of the shoe against the anklebone and the back of the wearers foot. The present invention thereforeis directed to the use of a snugging strap positioned at a suitablelevel around or immediately below the wearers ankle and adapted to bedrawn tightly therearound.

Another object is to provide a shoe with a snugging strap which is notseparated from the foot by the interposition of a stiff counter or thelike, which would prevent it from being drawn tightly around the foot.

Another object is to provide a shoe with a strap of sufficient width toprevent discomfort when drawn tight and one which is not twisted alongits length so that one edge thereof binds sharply against the sides orthe top of the foot.

Another object is to provide a shoe with a strap which is flexible toconform to the surface of the foot, but is not loose-fitting orstretchable.

Another object is to provide means for using the strap with allcategories of highand low-cut laced shoes, with shoes employing stiffcounters and with those devoid of counters, and particularly with shoesused by athletes, workmen, outdoorsmen and the like where extraordinaryfoot movements, stresses and pulls are encountered.

The invention can be understood readily by reference to the accompanyingdrawing wherein, in the interest of clarity, certain features are shownon a somewhat exaggerated scale and wherein a Figure l is an oblique topview of a laced track shoe embodying features of the invention,

Figure 2 is a schematic partial top elevation of a shoe similar to thatof Figure 1 illustrating certain features of the invention, and

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a football-type shoe having a stiffcounter and embodying features of the invention.

The track shoe illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing is of generallyconventional design and comprises a plain toe vamp section 10, a pair ofsaddle sections 11, a pair of quarters 14, an outside back stay 18, alace stay and rows of eyelets 13 for engaging a lace 12. Such shoes areoften unlined and are generally made without a counter. In theillustration of Figure l, the quarters 14 are provided adjacent thecollar 21 of the shoe with pairs of approximately vertical slots 15through which a snugging strap 16 is threaded so that it passes aroundthe wearers foot above the heel and below the ankle bone. The strap 16is made of essentially inelastic material and is sufficiently wide toavoid discomfort to the wearer when it is drawn taut. Thestrap-supporting means comprising the loops 17 between adjacent slots 15which support the strap 16 are preferably relatively narrow and 2,8663%Patented Sept. 17, 1957 the snugging strap 16 is preferably threadedunder them so that it lies principally on the outside of the quarters14, the latter thus being drawn snugly against the ankle when the strapis tightened and providing a certain amount of padding between the strapand the foot. Other convenient strap-supporting means can, of course, beemployed.

The strap-supporting means are positioned carefully with respect to thecontour of the back and sides of the foot of a wearer of the shoe sothat the fiat inelastic snugging strap 16 lies in its supported positionsmoothly along the surface of the foot throughout its entire length andremains untwisted even when drawn taut. The strap 16 is preferablyslidable longitudinally in the supports 17 although it can be sewn orotherwise secured at the back of the shoe, e. g. to the back stay 18, ifdesired. Due to the particular contour of the human foot, the snuggingstrap 16 is supported so that its forward ends slope slightly upwardwith respect to the rerward sections of the strap.

The snugging strap 16 extends forwardly along each side of the shoe andterminates with each of its ends located approximately vertically above,or even slightly to the rear of, the center of theshank of the shoe. Thestrap is thus fashioned as to length so that it does not extend forwardfar enough to overlie the top of the wearers foot when the ends of thestrap are drawn forward to tighten it. Conventional strap lace-engagingmeans It? e. g. eyelets or hooks, are secured at the ends of thesnugging strap.

The snugging strap can be tightened, as shown more particularly inFigure 2, by engaging the eyelets 19 at its ends with strap-tighteningloops 22 formed in the lace 12 employed in lacing up the shoe, the otherend of the strap-tightening loop engaging a shoe eyelet 13. The shoe andthe snugging strap can thus be tightened on the foot during the samelacing operation, the lace being finally tied at the top of the lacestay as at 26 of Figure 2.

It is to be noted that, because of the particular dispositionofthe'snugging strap 16 with respect to the quarters 14 and the otherparts of the shoe, the projected center lines of the end sections of thesnugging strap 16 intersect the lace stay 20 of the shoe at a distanceconsiderably removed from its upper end. In order to avoid the exertionof a laterally directed component of force on the snugging strap when itis tightened, and a consequent flaring of the strap along the side ofthe foot which would be occasioned thereby, the lace-tightening loops 22are usually arranged to engage a shoe eyelet which is also removed fromthe upper end of the lace stay. In the illustration given, eachstrap-tightening loop 22 extends from a single shoe lace-engagingeyelet, i. e. from the second eyelet from the top, although, as pointedout previously, the strap-tightening loops 22 may, depending upon thecut of the shoe and the extent to which itis laced up the front, engageany other suitable shoe eyelet lying on or adjacent a prolongation ofthe central axis of the end sections of the strap 16. Thestrap-tightening loop can also, if desired, be spread at its forward endso that it engages a pair of eyelets rather than a single eyelet. In anyevent, the strap-tightening loops 22 should ex ert a force as nearlyalong the projected central line of the strap as possible.

The strap-tightening loops 22 of the lace 12 lie essentially entirelyalong a region of the outer surface of the shoe Where they are underlaidboth by the quarter or saddle of the shoe and a section of the tongue25. These two layers of leather, or of other material from which theshoe is constructed, provide sufficient padding below thestrap-tightening loops 22 to avoid any discomfort to the wearer whichmight be occasioned by the pressure of the narrow laces on the foot. Ina typical instance, the effective length of the strap between itseyelets was approximately inches and the length of each strap-tighteningloop of the lace between .the shoe eyelet and the strap eyelet when theshoe was laced and the strap tightened was approximately l fi. inches,the length of the strap thus being about 80 percent of the combinedlengths of the strap and two loops.

It is to be noted that it is disadvantageous to provide a snugging strapwith an effective length between the strap lace-engaging meansappreciably greater than that described even thoughthe strap-tighteningloop might engage the same eyelet on the shoe as before. The changingdirection of the strap and the cont'our of the upper part of the footagainst which the forward ends of such longer straps lie when tightenedinevitably cause a portion of the upper edge of the strap to flareoutwardly and the corresponding portion of the lower edge to bindtightly againstthe foot f 4 t j ,7

It should further be noted that if the strap were too short, thestrap-tightening loops being correspondingly longer would extendsufliciently far 'rearwardly along the side of the foot to causediscomfort by bearing tightly on the foot through the thin quarter.

The strap itself must be wide enough to avoid discomforting localizedpressure and should be essentially inelastic to prevent unduestretching. Itshould be relatively thin to avoid bulkiness and should befree, pli able and flexible. In practice, a strap of reinforcedsynthetic resin, approximately thick and wide has been used with entiresatisfaction.

Figure 3 illustrates the application of the invention to a football shoeas an example of a shoe made with a stiff counter. In the particularfootball shoe illustrated, the quarter 14 is overlaid with an externalcounter piece 23, the quarter and counter piece being secured together,e. g. by stitches 29, and a stiff counter, shown in dotted outline at28, is enclosed between the counter piece and the quarter. The width orheight of the stiff counter 28 is less than the distance from the sole27 to the collar binding 21, the shoe thus having an unstiffened sectionaround it adjacent the collar where the snugging strap 16 is positionedwithout overlying the counter 28. The snugging strap is supported byloops 17 in the counter piece and quarter similar to those described inconnection with Figures 1 and 2. The counter piece and counter can, ofcourse, be located inside the quarters 14, if desired, and entirelyanalogous results obtained. When the shoe is lined or when for anyreason the section around the shoe adjacent the collar consists of morethan one layer of leather or of other material, it is often convenientand desirable for the slots to extend only' through the outermost layer.When the snugg'ing strap 16 is threaded through the 'slots 15 in such aninstance, it remains separated, by a continuous layer of material, fromthe foot of the wearer. Such a construction is often of some advantageas furnishing a certain amount of padding under the entire length of thestrap.

We claim:

1. In a laced shoe: an upper; a section of said upper extending aroundthe shoe above the heel and below the level of the ankle bone of theshoe wearer, said section being devoid of a stiff counter; a fiat,flexible, substantially inelastic strap of substantial width positionedabove the heel and below the level of the ankle bone of the shoe wearerand supported by said section in a generally horizontal position aroundthe back and forwardly along both sides of said shoe and terminating atpoints approximately vertically above the transverse 5 center line ofthe shank of said shoe, the entire length of said strap lying in fiat,untwisted, conforming relation to said section; a lace-engaging means onsaid shoe positioned in spaced relation forwardly of each of the ends ofsaid strap and approximately on the forwardly projected center linethereof; and lace-engaging means on said strap whereby the strap can bedrawn taut into fiat pressure relationship throughout itsentire lengthwith respect to the adjacent surface of the Wearers foot by loops oflace extending generally horizontally between the lace-engaging means onsaid strap and the lace-engaging means on said shoe.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein a stiff counter is provided insaid shoe below the level of said strap.

3. In a laced shoe having an upper devoid of a stiff counter and havinglace-engaging means on said shoe, the combination including: a flat,flexible, substantially inelastic strap of substantial width positionedabove the heel and below the level of the ankle bone of the shoe wearerand supported by said upper in a generally horizontal position aroundthe back and forwardly along both sides of said shoe and terminating atpoints approximately vertically above the transverse center line of theshank of said shoe, the entire length of said strap lying in flat,untwisted, conforming relation to said upper; a lace-engaging means onsaid shoe positioned in spaced relation forwardly of each of the ends ofsaid strap and approximately on the forwardly projected center linethereof; and lace-engaging means on said strap whereby the strap can bedrawn taut into fiat pressure relationship throughout its entire lengthwith respect to the adjacent surface of the wearers foot by loops oflace extending generally horizontally between the lace-engaging means onsaid strap and the lace-engaging means on said shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

